A/HRC/10/8/Add.1 page 14 India Urgent appeal sent on 29 August 2008 jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions 45. The Special Rapporteurs brought to the attention of the Government information they had received concerning attacks on the Christian community in the Kandhamal district of the state of Orissa since 24 August 2008. Reportedly, the context of violence has been triggered by the murder of Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati, a local leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), as well as four other VHP members, who were shot dead on the night of the 23 August 2008. Before his death, Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati was reportedly active in opposing conversions away from Hinduism and negatively portraying the Christian minority. On 24 August 2008, the State VHP General Secretary Gouri Prasad Radh told the Hindustan Times that “this attack is the handiwork of Christians. There were four home guards at the ashram. Had the attackers been Maoists, they would have first attacked these cops. Swami was fighting the missionaries for four decades. We see a clear Christian conspiracy behind this attack”. 46. Although the Christian leadership condemned the killing of the VHP leader and his four associates, attacks on Christians and their places of worship, as well as Christian-ran orphanages and businesses, began on 24 August 2008. The incidents have been focused on Kandhamal district, but other districts reported to have been affected include Angul, Bargarh, Baudh, Debagarh, Gajapati, Jajapur, Koraput, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh. Many mobs reportedly carried out their attacks while chanting slogans in the Oriya language, translating as “Kill the Christians”. At least ten people have been killed so far, and the violence is continuing, putting many others in danger. 47. Among the victims, a nun was burnt to death on 25 August 2008, after a mob set fire to an orphanage in Phutpali in Bargarh district. Twenty children, who were at the orphanage, managed to escape but a priest suffered serious burn injuries in the attack. Pastors were also murdered on 25 August 2008. They include Mr. Nayak Samuel, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor from Bakingia, and Mr. Nayak Akbar, a Pentecostal pastor from Mandakia. 48. Allegedly, the police delayed taking action and did not enough to protect the district population. Further, though the State Government announced on 25 August 2008 that a special team had been constituted to investigate the murder of the Hindu leader and his associates, this appeared to have had little effect on the violence. Observations 49. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government of India concerning the above mentioned allegations. She would like to recall that the General Assembly resolution 63/181 urged States to step up their efforts to eliminate intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, notably by taking all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as incitement to hostility or violence, with particular regard to members of religious minorities in all parts of the world. She also would like to refer to the press statement released at the end of her country visit to India on 20 March 2008, which had already referred to